


Beauty

by ShadowPhoenixRider



Series: Walk on the Wild Side - Miscellanous Stories [2]
Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Chubby Khadgar (Warcraft), F/M, Light Angst, Romantic Fluff, Self Confidence Issues, Spike is still a massive troll, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, World of Warcraft: Legion, valentine's day fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-17 22:05:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13668231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowPhoenixRider/pseuds/ShadowPhoenixRider
Summary: Khadgar has planned a little surprise for Draggka, but little does he know that there will be some surprises in store for him, too.





	Beauty

**Author's Note:**

> I've had a particular idea bouncing around in my head for a while, and Valentine's Day was the perfect time for me to use it in a soppy Draggka/Khadgar fic. Enjoy!

“Draggka?” 

A warm, sultry voice tickled the troll’s ear, and she glanced over to the mage that was hovering beside her, a grin spread across his lips.

“Hmm?” Was her hummed response, raising an eyebrow at him. There was mischief written all over Khadgar’s face and glittering in his eyes, and she wondered what scheme he’d cooked up.

“You mentioned to me that you’ve never had the chance to really take in the sights of Shadowmoon Valley back on the alternate Draenor.” Khadgar said, his voice dropping to a deeper register that sent a shiver up her spine. “And since you’ve already taken me to Pandaria once before, I think it’s only fair of me to return the favour. If you would like to go, that is.”

Draggka turned to look at him properly.

“I’d love to! But, won’t de Alliance be around? Or da draenei? I didn’t be getting much of a chance to relax da last time I be going dere ‘cos of all de patrols,” she said.

“Don’t worry. I have found a place away from prying eyes that is perfect.” Khadgar smiled. “And I might have set up a few wards beforehand that will... _encourage_ anybody who stumbles upon it not to proceed.”

Draggka chuckled, shaking her head. 

“So dat’s where ya been sneaking off to when we be killing da demons Gul’dan set loose. Don’t it be quite a stretch, though? To create portals dere?”

“A little, yes. I couldn’t do it on a whim. But every now and again, and a teleport for two I can certainly manage.” A soft grunt drew his attention, and the mage chuckled. “Oh, sorry Spike. I meant a teleport for three. But that doesn’t sound nearly as romantic.”

The raptor gave him a disapproving stare before snorting, looking away from the mage and standing next to his hunter.

“Ya did know dat we be coming as a pair.” She reminded the mage. “He always be around, except when don’t want to be.”

“I’m very much aware of this, yes.” He replied. “I would not even entertain the thought of separating you. I just feel that since he’s an almost constant presence in our lives, I think of him just being...a part of you. If that makes sense. And sometimes I forget to include him.” He explained, glancing to the dismissive raptor. “Sorry.”

“Dat makes sense.” Draggka nodded, stepping closer. “So, are we gonna go now, or are ya keep butterin’ up my raptor?”

Khadgar’s eyes flashed with magic, pink-white sparks gathering around his hands as he began a lazy gesture.

“I was just coming to that, you know.” He teased, Draggka sensing the distinctive thickening of the air as Khadgar twisted the energies around them to begin his teleport. “Stay close,” he said, before he started to murmur an incantation that made Draggka’s fur stand on end, especially as she watched the arcane wash his eyes with bright light, making him almost inhuman for a moment. 

And then the magic flared around them, the hunter closing her eyes tight as they were pulled from one world to another. 

The grass that Draggka’s calloused feet came into contact with was soft, as well the soil underneath it, the moisture in it not enough to make it soggy. The air was still, but warm, as if night was closing off a hot day, and her first breath of this new location brought with it the smell of water-full vegetation, and an undertone of flowers she didn’t recognise.

“You can open your eyes now.” Khadgar murmured softly by her ear.

When she did, the troll was greeted by the sight of a great willow tree standing before them, the long streams of thick blue green leaves hanging down low enough to touch the ground and the clear water the tree was anchored beside. As she glanced around, it became apparent that Khadgar had taken them to a low-lying area, where a tributary of a river terminated in these idle twists and turns and pools, one of which the big willow tree sat beside. There were other willows along the pools and streams, but none as big as the one Khadgar had set them beside, and she glimpsed the occasional flicker of a glow-fly as it darted under the branches of the smaller trees.

Night had fallen upon them, as she’d guessed it had, and the great expanse of the dark starry sky was only broken up by the odd puffy cloud, and the large orbs of Draenor’s moons, the Pale Lady especially. Draggka had known Shadowmoon Valley to be beautiful, but this was...spectacular.

“Do you like it?” Khadgar asked softly, his hand gently resting on the small of her back. For all his bravado earlier, he always seemed to fret that he might do something wrong and upset her. 

Nothing could be further from the truth.

“I love it.” Draggka looked back to him, smiling widely, and delighted to see his blue eyes brighten. “It be...” She chuckled. “I be jealous dat de Alliance got to be setting dere base up here. I know it be da best place for dem an’ all, but...” She gestured. “It be beautiful.” She hesitated a moment, remembering the Shadowmoon Valley she’d first walked across. The thought that such a wonderful place was reduced to _that_... She shook her head quickly to dismiss the thought, saying: “Tank you fer bringing me here, Khadgar.”

“It is my pleasure.” He replied, his smile almost as bright as his eyes. “But I have one other thing to show you.” 

Khadgar reached out, brushing aside some of the leafy strands of the willow curtain, and he gestured for her to walk in first. As she did, she almost gasped.

The tree had the width of one that had stood for many decades, its dark reddish brown bark patterned with ridges and whorls that reminded Draggka of the wooden buildings in Val’sharah, or an artist’s depiction of how water flowed. The tree towered above her, its thick branches holding the leaves that draped down around the tree and the pool of crystal clear water it stood beside, so lush that they shrouded whatever was behind it from view. Some of the shorter leafy trails that hung down inside the ‘curtain’ had what seemed like glow-worms dangling from wispy strings from them, emitting a soft white light that didn’t intrude on the atmosphere under the boughs of the tree they hung from.

The hunter stood on the small outcropping of solid ground that the willow’s leaves hung over, barely big enough for someone to rest beside the water that the willow surrounded. The pool was deep enough to comfortably wade in, the ground underwater covered with water-grass the small colour as the land grass (a verdant green that almost looked blue in this light). Small white flowers floated in the water, their rounded petals reminding the troll of roses, except for their luminescent glow and spidery roots hanging beneath the surface. At the willow’s base grew smaller flowers with wide green leaves, their orange heads dangling over the water like tiny bells, occasionally shaking as glow flies flitted between them. 

So enraptured was she in this sight, Draggka barely heard the soft ‘shff’ noise of both Khadgar and Spike passing through the leaves, and thus she nearly jumped out of her skin as the mage laid a hand on the small of her back. He said nothing this time, but the question from before was clear in his eyes. _As if he even needs to ask._

“I...I be havin’ a hard time convincing myself dat dis be real,” she said, reaching up to touch his neck, feeling warmth, and the gentle throb of his pulse under his pale skin. “But it is. It just be...so beautiful, and...perfect.”

“You know, that’s exactly what I thought when I found this place.” Khadgar said, his arm looping around her waist. “I’d come to this Shadowmoon after a particularly gruelling Council meeting to cool off. In my wanderings, I found this place, and...” He smiled at her, the smile achingly sweet and his eyes warm with affection. “I knew I had to show you. To spirit you away so we could be together for a moment. Just us.” 

Draggka smiled back at him, and they shared a kiss; soft, gentle, with the sensation that the world had just pivoted to settle perfectly into place. They lingered for a couple of moments, the troll all but basking in her mate’s embrace, reaffirming to herself just how lucky she was to have him. Chaos might be raging back home, but Khadgar was her anchor, her soft place to land. And she was more than certain he felt the exact same way about her.

“Hmm.” The mage hummed then, tugging at his collar. “It’s warmer than I expected it to be. It must have been a very hot day before we got here.” 

“I thought so too.” Draggka nodded, watching Spike move away from them to take a drink from the pool. “It be da first, or an odd day, ‘cos dese waters still seem pretty high. And da plants seem fine too.”

“Yes. I did check the day before, and it didn’t seem nearly as toasty then.” Khadgar gave her a lopsided smile. “I suppose even another world has its odd quirks in its weather.” His eyes suddenly brightened. “You know, I’ve always been curious about what Draenor was like before the Legion arrived, and although this Draenor is not _our_ Draenor, it seems to be similar enough to make extrapolations, especially with firsthand accounts from the orcs and draenei on Azeroth...”

Draggka chuckled as her lover lurched off down his train of thought, keeping one ear listening to him as she began to fiddle with the laces of her leathers. Even though she wasn’t equipped for combat, the hunter preferred protective clothing over casual affairs (including a work knife), mainly because she was used to being in the wilds, where the creatures really didn’t care if you were clocked out for the day. She was also finding the heat just a little uncomfortable, and with such a large body of water nearby, it almost seemed rude not to take advantage of it.

“...I must admit to being somewhat put off by Draenor, having to survive on Outland for as long as I did,” Khadgar continued, “but since you showed me your work on the archaeology of the orcs of both Outland and this Draenor, the thoughts have always been at the back of my mind, and...and...” He trailed off, the troll having to resist a laugh, knowing that he was just staring at her now. “W...What are you doing?”

“What it look like to you, Khadgar?” Draggka flashed him a grin over her shoulders, shedding her tunic with a quiet sigh of relief. “It be hot, an’ we got dis big patch of water. All to ourselves. An’ your wards to be stopping anyone from looking at us.” Her grin widened. “Ya wanna join me?”

The archmage blushed one of the brightest reds she’d ever seen, the colour creeping around to his ears.

“O-Oh well, I, uh, you see...” He swallowed, clearing his throat. “I don’t...well, I...” He glanced away, and seemed to shrink in front of her. “E-Even if...I know that my wards, a-and Spike will stop a-anyone from seeing us, I just...just...” He touched his stomach, and Draggka understood immediately.

“Are ya sure?” She asked. “Ya know how I feel about you. Dere be nothing wrong wit ya. You or ya body.” She searched his face as he glanced up at her, his eyes sad and anxious and ashamed. Her ears drooped slightly. “But if ya feel better about stayin’ on da shore watchin’ me, den stay dere.” She slid a hand onto one of his, squeezing it. 

“I’m sorry.” He murmured, and the hunter’s heart cringed painfully.

“Dere be no need to be apologising.” She said, kissing him. “If ya don’t feel it, ya don’t feel it. No more. No less.” She frowned. “I just be worried dat ya be too hot in ya get-up, dat’s all.”

Khadgar tugged at his collar again.

“I...I will be fine,” he said, very unconvincingly. Draggka briefly debated whether she should try to persuade him, but she remembered that her mate’s stubbornness rivalled her own, and it was probably better to leave the issue be for the moment.

Once stripped fully, the troll tested the water with her foot. It was pleasantly cool, and she gently trudged down the bank, grimacing a little as the water hit her abdomen; it was only a minor unpleasantness, however, and quickly subsided. The water came comfortably up to her waist, and Draggka waded out, sighing softly.

“Ya be missing out, Khadgar,” she said, looking back over to where the mage stood on the bank, looking like he didn’t know quite what to do with himself. “Da water’s cool.”

“I-I’m alright.” Came his stuttering response. “You, um, cool yourself off. I’ll stay here and, um...watch.”

She couldn’t help but giggle at his words (and the fact his blush had increased too), yet the troll still felt...it didn’t feel right, her out in the cool water and him uncomfortably sat in his robes watching her bathe. Not that she minded him watching, but the imbalance bothered her. He’d brought her here clearly so they could enjoy themselves, but he wasn’t, and that wasn’t fair.

Draggka looked back to Khadgar, trying to think of a solution to this problem, when she spotted Spike beginning to jog towards the mage, who was now looking away, in a world of his own. The raptor’s posture changed as she watched, lowering his body ever so slightly as he always did before he charged- _no, he’s not going to- He is!_

“Spike!” She cried as she realized exactly what her companion was up to as the raptor put on a burst of speed, his eyes fixed on the unsuspecting archmage. Her shout made Khadgar snap his head around to see Spike barrelling towards him, but by then it was too late, and the raptor body-slammed him with considerable force. Khadgar yelped, flailing desperately for a handhold or maybe even a spell that could save him, but unfortunately gravity had its way and he crashed into water with an almighty splash.

“Khadgar!” The troll dived forward, knowing that swimming was much faster than running, even in this shallow water, trying not to panic. Thankfully, Khadgar surfaced with a gasp, and he quickly scrabbled onto dry land with her aid, coughing loudly as he did. “Are you alright?”

“F...Fine...!” The mage nodded, before glaring at the raptor watching them with a mischievous look in its blue eyes. “Love, do I have your permission to Polymorph him?”

The troll scowled.

“Please do,” she said.

Spike made a noise that sounded much like the raptor equivalent of a nervous laugh, and he sprinted away and out of the willow leaves, though a sudden undignified bleat revealed that he had not escaped Khadgar’s revenge.

“Urgh.” The thoroughly sodden mage grunted, brushing his soaking silver hair out of his face. “I should have seen that coming.”

“He shouldn’t be doing dat anyway.” Draggka said, looking over her mate with concern, her ears drooping. “I’m sorry, Khadgar.”

“It’s alright.” A wry half-smile twisted his lips. “We both know what he can be like.” He sighed, looking at the water dripping off the hem of his robes. “I suppose I’ll have to come out of these robes now anyway, if I want them to dry in a timely manner.”

“Yeah, unless you be havin’ a spell to dry ya out quick?” She asked.

“There is one.” Khadgar replied, grimacing as he began to shuck out of his waterlogged clothing. “But it only works with lightly damp clothing. Like after a rainfall. Not after you’ve been dumped unceremoniously into a pond by your lover’s mischievous raptor.”

Draggka managed a small smile, relieved some of Khadgar’s good humour remained. 

“I still be sorry ‘bout dis,” she said, stepping back into the water behind her.

“It’s fine, Draggka. It’s fine.” The troll was not completely convinced by his words, but said nothing further. She decided to look away from Khadgar as he stripped off, hoping that doing so would make him feel less awkward about it all. She knew as well as he did that Spike probably did it entirely for this reason, yet Khadgar’s unease still remained about it, and she would do everything in her power to soothe it. Even if she didn’t know what exactly to do.

An anxious intake and exhale of breath made the troll look back to Khadgar, now completely naked and clearly self-conscious about it. He glanced around nervously, scratching at the back of his neck in an attempt to comfort himself.

“Dere be nobody here but us, love.” Draggka spoke softly. “No one be knowing dat we be here. And ya wards be stopping anyone from investigatin’. It be just us.”

He said nothing, but nodded, tentatively dipping his foot into the water and slowly, carefully making his way deeper in, grimacing when the cool liquid met the warmer regions of his body. He stopped when he too was waist-deep in the pool, his eyes finally flicking up to meet hers. 

Uncertainty was written all over him, and the archmage seemed almost embarrassed in his own skin. Draggka knew that the ageing curse was the main cause of it all, that it had caused Khadgar to put to rest the notion that anyone would want to be involved with a man old before his time, romantically or otherwise. Although the fear had numbed with her over time, there were times it reared its head, like now.

“Ya feel a bit better outta dose robes now?” She asked casually.

“Y, Yes, actually.” Khadgar admitted, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. “It, it was getting a bit stuffy in them. And it’s not...not as cold as I’d thought it’d be.” His other hand traced a finger through the water listlessly, sending ripples undulating across the surface.

Draggka waded forwards, taking his hand and clasping it between hers.

“Ya know how I be feeling about ya, don’t you? Dat ya be da most handsome human I ever known?”

“I...I’m aware, I just...” Khadgar sighed, long and drawn out. “I find it hard to believe that when I look at you. Look at you, Draggka. You are essentially a perfect body of a hunter. Almost like a panther; sleek, all muscle and agile power. Your scars speak of your past and how strong you have been to withstand them. I’m sure many in the Horde would be honoured to have you as their mate, and I dare say some in the Alliance would admit your beauty as well.“

“Next to you...I’m a disappointment. Look at me. My body is aged beyond my time, this is just...just strudel here...” He pinched a roll of belly fat in demonstration. “I have some scars, but mostly due to my own foolishness and I...” The mage looked back up to her mournfully. “How do you...Why do you want me?”

Draggka’s heart almost broke at his words, and she wished bitterly that she could pull this fear from him and hurl it into the Twisting Nether so it could never trouble him ever again. She also wished that she was much better at Common, so she could properly express how she felt about him. 

Then again, she was part of the Horde, and the Horde never backed down from a challenge.

“I want ya because ya be handsome an’ gorgeous.” Draggka said, simply. “But if ya wantin’ de longer answer to dat...” She stepped forward. “None of dis I be findin’ ugly. Sure, dat curse be makin’ ya look old, but to me, ya look fine. It be...Dese wrinkles, dey remind me of da trees. None of da tall trees, da ones dat have been standing fer years have no smooth trunks. Dey be rough, wit grooves an’ marks.” 

She smiled up at him. “Dey be standing against da wind an’ storms an’ drought an’ fire to be growing tall and strong. You been standing tall ‘gainst all da tings da world be throwin’ at ya. And ya still be here. Wit ya smile, an ya bad jokes. Ya be da promise of sunrise in da middle of a nightmare.”

She reached out, tracing her fingers over his stomach, following the trail of silver hair down. “Dis be no shame to me. So I be muscle an’ bone - dat don’t mean dat dis be bad or anyting to be ashamed of. It never be affectin’ ya when ya be casting. And if de Pandaren be gettin’ along fine wit it, I don’t be seeing why you shouldn’t either. “

A thoughtful frown. “If I be reminding ya of a panther, you be reminding me of a kodo, or a thunder lizard. Dey be large beasts, and dey not be as sleek as a panther or a raptor be, but dey be every bit as powerful, an’ every bit as beautiful as dey are. Kodo be beasts of endurance. Dey can be trekking for many miles across da land witout rest an’ little water. An’ ya be a fool to be doubting dem in battle. Dey might not be fast, but dey can destroy anyting dat threatens dem, or da people dey care about. And dat be before thunder lizards zap ya.”

“People always be admiring da devilsaurs an’ de raptors when dey tink of da beasts of da wild. And it be true dat I do too. But, I be admiring da kodo too. Dey be strong, constant, loyal. Jus’ like you. Ya be...ya be wonderful. Handsome. Beautiful. Incredible.. _._ ” Draggka’s eyes brightened as she found the word she was looking for. “ _Magnificent._ Dat’s it. Da first time I saw ya like dis, dat be da first ting dat I thought. An’ I tink dat every time I be seeing ya in da middle of one of ya big casts, wit ya eyes on fire and da air buzzin’ like a storm.”

“Ya be incredible. And ya be putting every other to shame.” She smiled widely. “Dat’s why I want ya, mon.”

If Khadgar had been expecting such a speech, he certainly didn’t look that way. The mage looked like he’d just witnessed the birth of Azeroth, with his eyes wide with shocked surprise, and his jaw slack. It seemed only luck was keeping it from floating on the water’s surface. It took a few moments for him to regain the power of speech, blinking owlishly as he remembered how sentences worked.

“You...You...” He glanced away a moment, as if having to remind himself where he was. “Well. That...That’s more...that’s more than I could have ever have expected. More than I ever...than I ever imagined.” He swallowed hard. “I...You...” Another swallow, his voice beginning to shudder with emotion. “Light, Draggka. I don’t know what I ever...ever did to deserve you. You are...a blessing, a blessing I could have never dreamed I could have ever earned. T-To hear, that, that you think so much of, of _me._ ” _  
_

“It be mutual, Ba’la.” Draggka murmured. “I be honoured dat someone like you be lovin’ me. I never be tinking dat anyone like ya be even lookin’ twice at me. But...here ya are. I be so lucky.”

“And so am I, to have found you.” Khadgar stepped forward, taking her hands in his. “I never could have thought, when I first saw you talking to Go’el, that I was seeing the woman who would be my mate.” He squeezed her hands. “I love you, Draggka.”

“And I love ya too, Khadgar.” She smiled, so wide it nearly stretched from ear to ear. 

“Come here.” He whispered, pulling her close, arms curling around her.

Khadgar pulled her into a kiss, gentle and soft and utterly loving, pouring every drop of his affection and joy at being with her into it. Draggka responded in kind, wrapping her own arms around his large body, her fingers bumping over old, pale scars and folds of skin and meeting his love with hers. In this secret place, away from prying eyes, under the stars and standing in a crystal pool of water, man and troll renewed their bond, stealing away from their world’s uncertainties to find a place where love was where they were.

From the bank, unseen by the two, sat a now-recovered Spike, looking on. And if raptors could smile, he certainly would be.


End file.
